This Lent Discover God's Love In A Retreat - St. Augustine Catholic

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hopeful heart Spiritual Self-Esteem Robert J. Wicks, Ph.D. We are all loyal to at least one negative view of ourselves. It is the deep negative belief that cognitive therapists speak about or the driving unconscious force from early in life that the dynamically-oriented psychotherapists focus on in their work. Depression often occurs when we have forgotten to love the presence of God in all living things — including, maybe especially, in ourselves. A spirituality that recognizes we are always special in the eyes of God and that the so-called “specialnessin-the-eyes-of-the-world” is non-existent, or at best, fleeting, helps us to appreciate what failure, rejection, and crisis can teach us. Robert Frost once made the comment: “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” We are very tied to our image, and often we don’t even know it or for that matter appreciate how temporary and illusory trying to hold onto or put faith in our image can be. I remember a small event that happened several years ago which I try to recall anytime I feel myself losing perspective with respect to my own image. I had been asked by a colleague to give a workshop at a government installation for Veterans’ Administration employees. After a longer drive than I had expected, I arrived at the base feeling a bit annoyed. But all of my annoyance lifted and was replaced by pride when I noticed a large marquee by the front gate which bore the following message in three-foot letters: WELCOME DR. ROBERT WICKS! I “Reflection of the Sun in the Sea” – Nickolas Tarkoff (1871-1930) thought to myself: “Oh, how I wish I had a camera so I could take a picture of this for my mother.” (Never mind my wife; I regressed all the way back into childhood!) then I drove over to a large theater which looked as though it could hold thousands. As I got out and walked toward the large hall, I thought to myself: “I didn’t realize how famous I was; this important address to such a large group could be my finest hour.” Then when I got inside, there were only twelve people waiting for me to speak. I guess God was trying to keep me and my inflated ego in conversation! Self-awareness and healthy self-love go hand in hand. If anything, spiritual selfawareness is really a religious way of viewing selfconfidence because it is a self-confidence not built on lies we have told ourselves, but on an appreciation of the footprints of God in our own peronality and an understanding of how we often block these footprints from becoming clear to ourselves and others. When we love what God has given us and share it with others naturally and without expectations for gratitude we are truly people who have spiritual self-confidence and compassion; and isn’t that a great way to live? Dr. Robert J. Wicks is on the faculty of Loyola College of Maryland and author of the books Simple Changes, Sharing Wisdom, and Everyday Simplicity. He can be emailed at rwicks@loyola.edu. Christi’s Images/Superstock 32 ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
JEWELS ON PAPER: Art of the Medieval Book JANUARY 25 THROUGH MARCH 25 See extraordinary handmade manuscripts from the twelfth through the fifteenth century used for meditation and prayer. Painstakingly written on the finest parchment, these manuscripts were elaborately decorated by artists with rare pigments and valuable gold leaf, giving them a precious, jewel-like quality. These works give us a glimpse of the role that devotional books played in daily Christian life. Madonna, Mary, Virgin, Mother: The Changing Roles and Images of the Virgin Mary from the Late Medieval through the Renaissance SCHULTZ GALLERY-PERMANENT COLLECTION Explore ornate paintings, intricate sculptures and unique prints in our newly-renovated gallery that illustrate the shifting perceptions of Mary from the Late Medieval period to the early Renaissance. <strong>In</strong>spiring. Enduring. Transforming. Expressions of Faith. ADMISSION Members, FREE • Adults, $6 Seniors & Military w/ID, $4 <strong>St</strong>udents, $3 • Children 5 & under, $1 ABOVE: Two leaves from a Book of Hours; Circle of Coëtivy Master; French, Paris, ca. 1460; Tempera, gold and ink on vellum; Collection of Ron McCarty; Photograph courtesy of Terry Schank. RIGHT: detail, Agnolo Gaddi, Italian, ca. 1350-1396; Madonna of Humility with Angels, mid 1390s; Tempera on panel, 34 1/2 x 20 3/4”; Bequest of Ninah M. H. Cummer. 829 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32204 (904) 356-6857
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Page 7 and 8: Diocese Forgives Nearly $500,000 In
Page 9 and 10: words, redeemed people must act lik
Page 11 and 12: an Irish missionary to our diocese,
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Page 15 and 16: A Journey In Faith He describes an
Page 17 and 18: hadn’t taken on the responsibilit
Page 19 and 20: Within the first two decades of the
Page 21 and 22: Heavenly Tails Terry Wilmot By Eliz
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This Lent Discover God's Love In A Retreat - St. Augustine Catholic

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